The new technical coordinator of IbizaPreservation’s Sustainability Observatory joins with her sights set on improving its indicators
14/02/2022 IBIZA – Following the appointment of the former coordinator of the Ibiza Sustainability Observatory, Inma Saranova, as the new executive director of IbizaPreservation, Itziar Arratibel has taken the reins of this project of the environmental foundation with, in her words, “enthusiasm and determination to contribute to our understanding of the environmental situation on the island.”
Arratibel, a social educator with a degree in Pedagogy from the University of the Basque Country, is also an expert in gender and development studies, and has extensive experience in studies related to the environment. She was involved in designing the Consell of Ibiza’s Roadmap for Energy Transition and also collaborates actively in various projects with the Local Action Group for Rural and Fishing Development of Ibiza and Formentera.
As coordinator of the IbizaPreservation Sustainability Observatory, Arratibel is ambitious and confident that it can become a benchmark in the Balearic Islands. From 2022, the project will have a multi-year funding agreement with the Consell, which will allocate €58,000 per year to its operation.
“This collaboration with the Consell of Ibiza will allow us to dig deeper when it comes to evaluating the impact of different factors on the environmental situation of the island,” says Arratibel, who adds that the study of environmental indicators also allows us to “quantify our degree of responsibility and environmental sustainability, not just individually, but also as a community, and to verify the environmental and social commitment of companies operating in Ibiza.
So far, the Sustainability Observatory has produced several annual sustainability reports that include more than fifty environmental indicators aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, it is also currently working on a highly detailed map of the island, to facilitate the study of different land uses, as well as participating in a comparative report with the islands of Menorca, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
According to the new technical coordinator of the Observatory, “in this new stage, another of our objectives will be to establish collaboration agreements with various observatories and organisations in the sector, as well as executing research projects and studies with third parties to generate their own data.”
IbizaPreservation’s director Inma Saranova adds that, with the appointment of Arratibel, the foundation continues its commitment to improving the quality of its reports and trusts that “the experience and rigour demonstrated by our new coordinator will allow us to better position the Observatory as a benchmark entity in the collection, compilation and analysis of environmental data in Ibiza.”
